German Economics Expert Criticizes Childcare in Germany as Inadequate
The chair of the Economic Advisory Council, Monika Schnitzer, has criticized the childcare offers in Germany as insufficient. “You can’t rely on the kindergartens” Schnitzer said to the Funke Media Group’s Sunday editions.
“The whole system is based on the assumption that we involve grandparents or, if possible, organize private childcare for ourselves. Those who can’t afford it have no other choice but to reduce their working hours” the economist criticized.
In her opinion, the proposed abolition of part-time work, as demanded by Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) in the spring, is “completely unrealistic.” Schnitzer demands more money and personnel for kindergartens, so that much additional working hours can be gained, and a high-quality childcare is important for integration.
“But we also need a change of mind in companies: it can’t be that young fathers are looked down upon when they only want to work 80 percent, so that the mothers can also work 80 percent” Schnitzer said.
Similar to the state of childcare, Schnitzer also evaluates the situation in care for the elderly as critical. “There is no care support that doesn’t force you to significantly restrict your working hours” the professor of comparative economic research at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich said.
The system heavily promotes part-time work, “concretized by the spousal splitting, which no one dares to reform. This combination is fatal” the economist criticized.